author
William George Browne
1768–1813
An adventurous English traveler who pushed far beyond the usual European routes of his day, he became known for journeys through Egypt, Darfur, and parts of southwest Asia. His travel writing helped introduce readers to places that were still little known in Britain at the end of the 18th century.
1 Audiobook
Travels in Africa, Egypt, and Syria, from the year 1792 to 1798
by William George Browne
About the author
Born in London in 1768, William George Browne was educated privately and later studied at Oriel College, Oxford. He is remembered as a traveler and writer whose curiosity drew him toward North Africa and the Middle East at a time when very few Europeans had firsthand knowledge of those regions.
Browne traveled in Egypt and went on to Darfur, becoming known as the first European to give a substantial description of that sultanate. He later published Travels in Africa, Egypt, and Syria in 1799, a book that brought together observations from journeys made between 1792 and 1798.
His life ended violently in 1813 while he was traveling in Persia on an attempt to reach Tehran. Though not as widely remembered as some explorers of his era, his accounts remain part of the early European record of northeastern Africa and nearby regions.